How to make a plan: 3 tips on where to start

There’s never a lack of ideas; there’s a lack of planning to implement them. I’ve had things that I’ve been wanting to do for ages now, and I’ve never really gone all in. I consider myself good at planning. Despite this, I never write anything down. And then unsurprisingly, nothing ends up happening. Maybe you can relate.

So, I’m trying something different (“DSD – Do Something Different” as heard from Amy Porterfield). I took the small amount of time needed to plan, and here I am, doing something that I wanted to. Here are 3 tips on where to start.

1. Start by asking yourself questions, and then answer them. I prefer to do my planning using a pencil and notebook. Of course you can use an app or some other tool. The important thing is that you’re getting info out of your head. A great way to do this is by asking questions. Your brain loves solving problems, so give it some.

Ask questions like:

• Who do you want to become?
• What does that look like?
• How can you practice that?
• Where can you experiment?
• What’s your outcome?

An important note here is to actually answer the question. That’s how you gain clarity. Give your brain some space back by writing things out.

2. Reverse engineer from your outcome, but not too much. Now that you’ve asked some questions and written down some answers – it’s okay if they don’t feel 100% correct – it’s time to plan.

I’m assuming your outcome is for something you want. That being the case, you need to take new actions to get there. I like to think of few steps to start that I can experiment with. Remember, the outcome is what you want, the steps are just a way to get there and it’s okay if they change. 

My steps look like this:

1. Lock down my role at my job
2. Create consistent YouTube content
3. Create a product to sell

I’m going to take my step one and only focus on that until it’s complete. I’ll need to break it down into smaller steps that are less vague and more actionable as well.

3. Schedule your action steps

Schedule your actions. I’m writting now becuase I scheduled it last night. Play around with this. If you aren’t a big scheduler, experiment with what you like. You can explore time blocking, a simple to-do list, the pomodoro technique, AI assisted planning, there are a bunch of different ways to plan.

The other half to this is that you must show up to do what you said you would do. Your outcome can only happen if you show up. This isn’t a chore; it’s the positive steps to get what you want!

In recap:

1. Ask and answer questions to gain clarity
2. Create action steps by reverse engineering your outcome
3. Schedule your actions steps – seriously!

Progress is made one tiny step at a time. Have some fun with it.

You’ve got this!